UPDATE: COVID death in NYC; Empire City closes; Trump declares national emergency

Empire City Casino in Yonkers closed at 6 a.m. Saturday until at least March 28, according to owner MGM Resorts International. It made the move as a precaution in view of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“This is a challenging time and we regret the impact closure will have on our employees, their families and the community,” the company’s President and COO Bill Hornbukle said.

Yonkers Raceway, which is part of the casino complex, closed on Wednesday after John Brennan, the Standardbred Owners Association of New York director representing horsemen at Yonkers, died of the coronavirus. Brennan, 69, was a resident of New Jersey. Yonkers Raceway asked all of its employees who worked in the immediate area to self-quarantine.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo held a Saturday morning conference call with reporters during which he said an 82-year-old woman who had been hospitalized in New York City with COVID-19 and an underlying case of emphysema has died. She had been hospitalized since March 3. Cuomo was reluctant to pinpoint COVID-19 as the proximate cause of her death because of the woman’s overall medical situation. A reporter had asked whether her death should be considered the first in New York state from the virus.

Cuomo said that people in 150 vehicles were tested for the virus at the drive-thru testing station that opened Friday at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle. He said a second drive-thru testing station is being planned, this one to be on Long Island, possibly located at Jones Bech State Park.

Cuomo also said that the number of known cases in New York state stood at 524 as of Saturday morning. There were 172 in Westchester County. New York City had 213 cases.

Rockland County had 10 cases. There were 6 cases in Orange. Duchess County had 3 cases. Ulster had 5 cases. Nassau County had 68 cases and Suffolk County had 33 cases. There were one each in Broome, Delaware, Herkemer, Schenectady, Tioga and Tompkins counties. Saratoga and Albany each had 3 cases. Monroe County had 2 cases.

On Friday afternoon, President Trump declared a national emergency because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The move allows the release of approximately $50 billion in extra government funds to help deal with the disease.

“This will pass and this will pass through and we’ll be even stronger for it,” Trump said. He also said that his administration has been “doing a tremendous job.”

Trump said that he has waived interest on all student loans held by federal government agencies. He has instructed the secretary of energy to purchase oil for the country’s strategic reserve in view of the low price of oil at the moment.

Trump spoke at the White House Rose Garden and a major portion of his remarks concerned testing. Representatives of Walmart, Target and other major retailers and pharmacy chains expressed their commitment to work to ensure the availability of supplies. Representatives of testing laboratories were there to pledge full efforts to increase the capabilities of testing for the disease.

Gov. Cuomo announced Friday afternoon that schools that are not open the mandated 180 days will not lose state aid.

In addition, the Public Service Commission will issue an order that prevent any state utility from shutting off power to any customer who is behind in payments as a result of the novel coronavirus.

The news conference came a day after the governor reached an agreement with New York City theater owners to shut down Broadway shows as a way to help slow the spread of the virus. The shutdown would remain in effect until at least April 12.

In Westchester, the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford said that it will be closed until April 14. The Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase has canceled its performances and The Music Hall in Tarrytown said that it is canceling the next several of weeks of performances and will review what will subsequently happen. Other venues also canceled performances or planned to make decisions soon.

Cuomo also announced that gathering places with a seating capacity of up to 500 would have to reduce their maximum occupancy to half of what it normally is. He said that gatherings involving more than 500 people would not be permitted in New York state.

The Broadway League said that ticketholders for performances through April 12, 2020, should contact their point of purchase for refunds or exchanges.

Cuomo said that the reduced seating capacities for venues other than Broadway theaters would go into effect at 5 p.m. today (March 13). The capacity rules would not apply to schools, hospitals, nursing homes or mass transit facilities.

Nationwide, the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association, both suspended their season play. Also canceled were the NCAA tournaments.

Cuomo announced new rules governing nursing homes and assisted living facilities. All staff will have to wear masks, staff will have to be monitored for symptoms of the virus, no nonmedical staff will be allowed to enter except for special circumstances and visitors would have to wear protective gear.

“If you care about someone in a nursing home, the last thing you want to do is endanger that person,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo said that the state would not be able to compensate businesses for loss of business. He said to do so would bankrupt the state.

Cuomo said the ridership on mass transit is down. Metro-North has seen a 48% drop in ridership. The New York City subways are down 18.5% and the buses are down 15%. Risdership on the Long Island Rail Road has dropped by 31% and traffic at bridges and tunnels was down by 7%.

State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said that, in all of New York state as of noon on Thursday, 2,314 people had been tested for COVID-19. He said 2,000 people statewide are in quarantine.

Cuomo had said on Wednesday that New York state would contract with 28 private labs to increase testing capacity for the novel coronavirus. After speaking with the 28 labs, the governor said that he instructed them to begin testing immediately. The labs are specialized in virology and are routine partners with the state Department of Health.

The governor reported that an attorney who worked at the Westchester County Courthouse in White Plains tested positive for the virus. Six courtrooms in the building were closed for cleaning as a result. Cuomo said other attorneys who had contact with the infected attorney are on precautionary quarantine.

A day earlier, Cuomo said the state “will guarantee two full weeks of paid leave” for all state workers who are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of quarantine. This will apply to all state employees, regardless of civil service classification, bargaining unit, and regardless of part time or accrual status.

On Tuesday, in announcing the containment zone for New Rochelle, Cuomo said it would be one-mile in radius (two miles across) and that all buildings in that zone would be prohibited from allowing large public gatherings to take place.

Schools within that zone would be closed. People would be be able to move about and leave the zone. Cuomo said the thrust of the containment zone would be to prevent large gatherings of people where the virus might be further spread.

National Guard personnel would be used to assist if needed in performing various functions within the zone,, such as delivering food. Cuomo said that they would not be performing any policing functions.

Cuomo said the Northwell lab that he visited on Sunday would be setting up a satellite facility in New Rochelle to handle testing for COVID-19 on the spot. He also said Northwell had received permission from the federal government to begin automated testing for the disease at its lab on Long Island.

The zone went into effect March 12 and will remain in place for at least two weeks.

“It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster (of COVID-19) in the country. This is literally a matter of life and death,” Cuomo said.

Westmed Medical Group reported Monday evening that one of its health care providers has tested positive for coronavirus. The individual works at Westmed’s facility at 210 Westchester Ave. in White Plains.

Westmed did not say whether the individual is a physician but it did describe the individual as “a Westmed provider who practices at our office.”

COVID-19 — Coronavirus image courtesy the CDC. Illustration by Bob Rozycki

Cuomo said that he is preparing a bill to send to the state Legislature that would require all businesses in New York to offer paid sick leave to employees. He will be asking for immediate action to get it passed.

Cuomo said that not providing paid sick leave gives employees who might be infected an incentive to come to work, possibly exposing others to the virus.

As for the shortage of hand sanitizer on store shelves, Cuomo said that the state has arranged for production of a sanitizer named NYS Clean. It is being produced by Corcraft, a company operated by the state”™s Department of Correctional Services, Division of Industries.

He also encouraged New Yorkers to work from home, telecommute and avoid densely populated spaces whenever possible to help contain the spread of the virus.

The governor had declared a state of emergency on March 7, which allows:

”¢ expedited procurement of cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and other essential resources;
”¢ qualified professionals other than doctors and nurses to conduct testing;
”¢ expedited procurement of testing supplies and equipment;
”¢ expedited leasing of lab space;
”¢ EMS personnel to transport patients to quarantine locations other than just hospitals; and
”¢ a clear basis for price gouging and enforcement investigation. The Division of Consumer Protection has created an online form for anyone who wishes to file a complaint at https://www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection/.

Staff writer Bob Rozycki contributed to this report.